


The Jump Off

by eqana



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Horses, Slow Burn, enemies to begrudging friends to lovers, equestrian AU, sorta - Freeform, that nobody asked for, there IS a plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-28 22:40:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15716556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eqana/pseuds/eqana
Summary: You're a talented young rider whose just been awarded a position on a top 3 day eventing team.It should be a dream come true, but between your new horse trying to kill you, your team captain eager to see him try, and the prestigious Trost City Horse Trials fast approaching, life at Royal Sina Equestrian Centre might not be as perfect as you thought.(Revised + reposted due to popular demmand, I originally started writing this circa 2014)





	1. Chapter 1

It had been almost a month since you'd been invited to join The Royal Sina Equestrian team, but it still didn't seem real.

Even now, as the bubbly young girl who’d introduced herself as Petra showed you around their grand facilities, you couldn’t quite believe it. This sort of thing just didn't happen to you. Yet no matter how hard you pinched yourself, you were here, at one of the top equestrian centres in the world, because they wanted you.

Despite the fact that everyone had been more than friendly to you, you couldn’t help but feel horribly out of place. You’d hoped that upon arrival you’d be shown to your room to change for dinner, but the young show jumper had swiftly attached herself to you and decided to give you the full tour after helping you dump your bags upstairs. 

You just wish that you’d bothered to change out of, or at least clean your old riding boots. Although a good brand, they were marred by the dried mud and horse hair covering them from this morning’s effort of grooming your new horse Scout and coaxing him onto the horsebox. You couldn’t help but feel a bit self conscious standing next to Petra in her immaculate outfit and freshly oiled boots.

‘Hey, are you alright?' The other girl gave you a reassuring smile. 'If you're still tired from your drive we can finish the tour tomorrow, its no problem!'

You mentally shook yourself 'Sorry, It just hasn't sunk in yet, I can't believe I'm actually here!’

'Hey I was the same!, no matter how good a rider you are, when the most prestigious equestrian centre in Europe calls you up and offers you a place, its gonna seem crazy.’ She gave a comforting smile and tugged at your sleeve. 'Come on, I think some of your new teammates are schooling down by the river, we can go introduce you!’

As you followed her she pointed out various paths leading to different arenas, barns, and even a horse hydrotherapy room. The facilities were stunning, state of the art and expansive, not helped by the fact that it also encompassed a recently renovated 18th century hunting lodge that more closely resembled a small castle. The rest of the estate consisted of various equestrian outbuildings scattered between rolling pastures, ringed by the forest that made up the the estate.

The two of you approached a huge arena and leant against the wooden railing. There were three people riding, firstly a dark haired girl on a dapple grey horse. The animal was light and elegant, and as they cantered a circle on the sand, they gave the impression of floating, never putting a foot wrong. She was one of the best riders you’d ever seen, her hand and leg movements so subtle it was if she was guiding her horse with her mind alone.

The first boy rode a huge dark bay. He didn’t have the unified grace of the girl, his horse was coiled and ready to spring forward in anticipation, nostrils flaring and tossing his head with snort on every stride. The boy put both reins in one hand and turned to wave at Petra and yourself, before taking up the contact again and urging the horse on. They sprung forward, every muscle on the animal’s legs rippling, the boy keeping his balance effortlessly through the sudden change of momentum. Speeding down the side of the arena, the boy pulled them and turned sharply, into a sizeable jump that the pair sailed over with ease. Yep, he was definitely showing off. 

The other boy couldn’t have been more different. He rode a horse about half the size of the others, its coat the colour of spun gold with a creamy white mane and tail. Whilst the other swooped through elegant patterns and tight turns, he kept the horse at a brisk trot around the edges of the school so not to get in their way. Not to say they were a bad pair, the pony looked well bred, the boy well dressed, and if you were honest, they reminded you a lot of your old horse Apollo. 

Before you could become lost in thought, the boy nudged his horse towards the fence.

'Hi, I’m Armin, are you the new member of the eventing team’

You smile and introduce yourself, ‘Yep, although my horse isn’t going to be here until tomorrow.’

'You can ride Atlas if you like!' came the loud voice of the other boy, ‘I’m Eren by the way.’

'Mikasa.' added the girl as she sidled up to him.

You look round at your new teammates. ‘It’s great to meet you, from watching just now I can see I’m gonna have my work cut out keeping up with you. Which one of you is the captain?’

‘I’m not actually on the team, I just exercise the horses.’ Confessed Armin. He pointed towards the main barn. ‘Levi should be back there getting ready, he normally rides with us in the mornings then hacks out in the evenings.’

'You guys finish training, I’ll introduce her!’ Petra smiled, and after waving a quick goodbye to them you followed after her.

 

—————————————

 

‘So….What’s Levi like?' You ask curiously. 

'Well,' Petra began. 'He's very......meticulous. He hates things being untidy, wether thats the barn itself, the horses or the riders. Also people who just don't put the effort in. Before you we had this girl in, she was fantastically talented, but did the bare minimum, riding sloppily and just dumping her horse on the grooms. Levi personally saw to it that she didn't last more than two weeks.' 

'So I’ve just gotta stay on his good side?'

‘Yeah, but he's really not that bad, just keep it short and sweet and I doubt he’ll find anything to complain about. You’re lovely!’

Feeling somewhat reassured you follow her into the barn. Just inside was a small wooden door with a horseshoe knocker, polished so brightly it shone in the evening light. So, this must be Levi’s influence. Looking around you noticed that all the usual horsey clutter you’d find in a barn was tidied away and the floor swept to perfection. In the closest stall was a small black mare, dark coat shining. You smiled at the soft brown eyes blinking back at you. 

‘That’s Duchess, she’s Levi’s.’ Petra said. 

Looking back at the immaculate horse, you gathered your courage and knocked on the door.

'Come in.'

Shooting a glance at Petra you opened the door and stepped inside. Levi’s office was much like everything else in this place, not a hair out of place. Rosettes, and framed photographs were tacked up neatly around the room, and there was a cabinet displaying several trophies. A large window overlooked a paddock where three horses were grazing, and the world’s most organised bookshelf sat behind a desk. Looking up from oiling a brown leather riding boot was Levi, and judging from his expression, he was not in a good mood.

Petra smiled as if oblivious to the look he was giving you. ‘Levi, I thought I’d introduce you to the new team member, although unfortunately her horse isn't here until tomorrow.’ 

Levi’s eyes dropped from you as he went back to his polishing. ‘Petra, why are you bringing this dirty brat into my office?’ 

‘Lovely to meet you too.’ Seriously? Was that his idea of an introduction?

'If you're supposedly good enough to get onto our team I'd have assumed you'd know how to clean a pair of boots, and that its not polite to track mud into other peoples offices, although between you and the last girl it looks like Erwin is simply letting anyone in these days.' His tone was flat, bored, but the way his eyes held yours suggested a challenge. 

Despite your better judgement, you snapped back. ‘You know, with horses mud kind of comes with the territory, it’s not too late to get a career change if that bothers you so much. And I refuse to be criticised by someone who wears a cravat to go out on a hack’

'Oh look, its also impertinent and has a shitty attitude.’ He said, giving you a disgusted look. ‘But I'm in a generous mood so I'm willing to make a deal with you. If you clean up the mess your disgusting shoes have made on my floors, and then clean out the two end stalls to my standard, I won't get Erwin to fire you immediately.’ He paused his polishing again to look you in the eye. ’Understand?'

‘Fine.’ You spat back at him, with somewhat less fire than you possessed a minute ago. You'd forgotten that he had the power to get you kicked out, and you sure as hell weren't going to let your hard work to get here go to waste on the account of some guy with an attitude problem.

'Even so, I doubt you'll last a week.’ He smirked at you as he got up and crossed the room. You hadn’t noticed how short he was when he’d been seated. His gloved hand picked up a leather crop that had been lying on the desk. He turned back to look you up and down. 'More promising and polite students have left sooner.' 

He flicked his wrist, causing the crop to strike the leather of his boot. Despite yourself, you jumped at the unexpected sound, earning you another annoying smirk from Levi as he strode past you and exited his office.

You sank to your knees beside Petra 

‘Short and sweet huh?’


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a few chapters written that ill be aiming to post every other day, and I'm currently in the process of compiling a glossary of horsey lingo - stay tuned if things don't make sense yet!

Not even an hour at this place and you’d already landed yourself on the bad side of your team captain with a list of chores. Fantastic. 

Petra had kindly offered to help, and you were beginning to regret turning her down. It had taken you at least 15 minutes to find cleaning supplies in Levi’s office (you’d eventually found them in the top drawer of his desk, I mean seriously? What kind of person keeps cleaning supplies in their desk?), and then realised you’d made an even bigger mess of the floors. Wonderful.

Not wanting to make that mistake again, you took of your boots outside before kneeling on the floor to get down to scrubbing, cursing your new team with every stroke. 

You were just rubbing at the last bit of dirt when you felt a tap on your shoulder. Expecting Levi, you leapt to your feet and whirled around, fumbling to pull your headphones out, and nearly ended up elbowing a startled Armin in the face.

‘Uh, what are you doing on Levi’s floor? Where are your shoes?’ He asked, confused.

‘I sort of tracked mud all over the floor and he ordered me to clean it up…’ you replied sheepishly.

He didn’t look too surprised. ‘Yeah he’s funny about that stuff, but it looks like you’re done, so do you want to head back to the house with us for dinner?’

‘I may or may not have also insulted him.’

‘Ah.’

‘I’ve gotta do the end stalls.’ 

Armin gave you a sympathetic look. ‘We’ll get them to save some food for you. If it makes you feel any better he’s probably going to get shit from Erwin for making you late to dinner on your first night. But seriously, he’s an okay guy once you get past his…you know…’

‘Personality?’ You suggested.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at that. ‘Okay I’ve gotta go, but don’t let him get to you okay?’

You nodded ‘Thanks Armin.’ 

You watched him leave the room and couldn’t help but feel warmed by him. Everyone (well, with one notable exception) had been so welcoming at Royal Sina, but he stood out as being particularly kind. Was he a groom? No, his outfit was both far too clean and far too expensive looking, although the same could be said for everything in this place. You got to your feet and put the cleaning products back in Levis enormous desk. You took a small comfort in the thought of the captain sitting behind it and looking ridiculous because of his height.

Giving the office a final sweep you noticed something on the back wall that looked slightly off, hearing no sound of Levi’s return, you slipped behind the desk to take a closer look.

It, turned out to be a tiny doorknob, made out of a slightly different type of wood but disguised to look like part of the wall. You wrestled with the idea of opening it for several minutes before your conscience got the better of you and you turned away. 

It took you a while to put your boots back on and find the tools for mucking out, but once you got back into the swing of it it was like you were 11 again, helping at the local stables after school to prove to your parents that you were responsible enough for a horse of your own. The nickering of the horses around you, and the sweets smell of hay brought the memories rushing back.

After a year of helping out you’d gotten your wish. Apollo had been a chestnut gelding who was far too tall for your average 12 year old, but had a heart of gold and you’d loved each other, which had been all that had mattered. After a series of knocks and tumbles, you’d gone from trotting over poles at local shows, to flying round the junior eventing championships this year. Competing against horses and riders from all over the world the two of you had managed to bag a pretty respectable fourth place. Apollo had been a competition horse born and bred, and you’d always been lucky enough to have good trainers, but it still came as a shock. You’d never thought you’d stand a chance at doing well, let alone finishing close to the top. Since then you’d been in a bit of a dream, several show stables had called you and offered you places, but your parents had been adamant that you finish your last year of school before you made a decision, but when Royal Sina had picked up the phone there had been no hesitation. Things had looked so hopeful. 

You mentally shook yourself. Thinking of Apollo wasn’t going to get you anywhere. You put your headphones back in and set to work.

____________________________

You had never been as proud of your mucking out skills as you were now. Neat beds of soft shavings, the floors swept clean shined back at you. Like sure, it definitely wasn’t the way you’d expected nor wanted to spend your first day at Royal Sina, but theres something so relaxing about the sound of horses lazily munching on their evening feed accompanied to familiar songs. Taking a last look at the result of your labours you sat down on a tack trunk and started to clean your boots. 

As much as you hated to admit it, they were rather filthy and in need of soaping. Watching the shine come back to the leather was annoyingly satisfying. Damn Levi. You were tempted to just leave them to get dirty, purely to spite him, but unfortunately he wasn’t the only person in this place who looked completely immaculate, and it couldn’t hurt to make a good impression on the centre’s manager Erwin.

You were distracted from your polishing by the sound of hooves on tarmac. Levi was back.

He dismounted, swinging a leg gracefully over Duchess before lowering himself to the ground. He took the mare’s reins and walked over, gesturing for you to hold her.

You held her, and he begun to work at the leather straps of her saddle. You watched as his graceful gloved fingers moved, making quick work of the buckles. You absentmindedly patted Duchess’s neck.

‘Why are you still here?’ He asked.

You blinked. ‘Didn’t you want to check the stalls? And your office?’ 

He gently slid the saddle from the mare’s back, and thrust it into your arms before taking the reins back. ‘I’m not going to fucking dismiss you like your schoolteacher. You do your shit, then you go.’ 

You raised an eyebrow ‘Then why are you making me hold your saddle?’

‘Make yourself useful and wipe it down for me.’

You’ve exchanged about 20 words and you already want to strangle him. ‘Anything else you want while you’re at it?’ 

He put Duchess in cross ties then looked over his shoulder. ‘Actually my boots need polishing.’

‘You polished them before you went out!’

‘Exactly, I went out. So now they’re dirty and need polishing. Not everyone likes looking like shit.’

You bite back a retort and go back to your saddle cleaning. What a joke, its completely spotless. The leather is soft and supple, but you sponge the still warm object to avoid another argument. You also can’t help but note the good brand and feel a twinge of jealousy.

‘When you’re done you can put it in the tack room. The nameplate says Duchess, I assume you can read.’

Mouthing strings of curses under your breath you place the clean and expensive saddle in the equally clean and expensive tack room. You did love the look of this place but couldn’t help but miss the relaxed atmosphere back home.

Levi had finished grooming when you returned, and was just putting Duchess back in her stall.

He looked over his shoulder. ‘You can go to dinner.’

‘Huh…?’ Hang on, was Levi actually being nice to you?

‘I don’t want your dirty hands all over my boots. Just go.’

Of course not. 

‘Okay….well bye’ You mumbled as you slipped out the barn without looking back.

 

You made your way back towards the main building and pondered the events of the evening. You’d definitely had more promising first days, how the hell had you ended up scrubbing floors and mucking out like some kind of groom? You knew that riding at top level wouldn’t be all glitz and glamour, but come on, that shorty was really pushing it.

Now you had to survive dinner. What if everyone else here was as bad as Levi? Sure, Petra and the others had been lovely, but they weren’t the ones running the place. What if the manager Erwin took a dislike to you too? 

A logical part of you knew you were just worried as it was your first job away from home. But the unfamiliarity, and just the sheer scale of the place kind of freaked you out. You’d been to your fair share of top equestrian centres, but none of them had the charm of your little yard back home. You’d been there since you were 7 and the other boarders were like a family to you. You’d grown up together, riding each others horses and spending late nights giggling in the tack room. You knew the surrounding woods off by heart, and had a thousand happy memories of long rides up to the beacon where you could throw yourself down on the grass and relax under the sky whilst Biscuit would graze beside you. 

You pushed away the nostalgia as you reached the building. After quickly checking your outfit (and mentally cursing Levi - your clean boots looked fantastic) you stepped inside.

You made your way through the building, following the sound of chatter to a grand oak door. Trying not to pay attention to the people staring, you scanned the room and quickly made your way over to where Petra was sitting.

‘Did Levi really keep you this long?’

You nodded back at her ‘I mean, it wasn’t too bad, but god, I’m starving’

‘Hey, Sasha’ She motioned to the girl sitting next to her, ‘You’re getting seconds aren’t you? Could you take her with you whilst I finish up?’

Sasha hopped up and took your arm ‘You poor thing! You almost missed dinner! Come with me immediately!’

You couldn’t help but be warmed by her enthusiasm, you waved a quick goodbye to Petra before following her round to the kitchens.

‘We normally are all served out in the dining room, but if you want seconds, or are late you just come round here’ She explained handing you a plate. 

There were several platters of roast vegetables and the remains of a huge roast leg of lamb. You allowed her to pile a ridiculous amount of food onto your plate as well as her own but couldn’t help eyeing up the half eaten chocolate cake on the other bench. 

‘Looks good doesn’t it’ she remarked, following your gaze.

‘Are we like, allowed some?’ you ask tentatively.

‘Oh yeah of course…but..wait. Do you want to get Levi back for making you late for dinner?’ 

‘Um….what are you suggesting exactly?’ You looked over at the girl who was smiling deviously.

‘Well, say chocolate cake happened to be Levi’s favourite dessert, and maybe when he came to get some there was none left…’

‘I don’t think even we can finish that right now, especially with all this.’

‘Who says we have to eat it all right now? My dorm is just round the corner. We could each take a bit now and I could quickly run and hide the rest. Then we can finish it tonight with the others!’ 

You couldn’t help but laugh ‘Okay fine, but if I get kicked out on my first day for stealing food and angering my superiors I’m blaming you.’

‘Technically it was you who wound up Levi in the first place. But okay, deal.’ The girl handed you two slices of cake before heading to the door with the rest. ‘Okay just wait for me here. Ill be back in a minute’ She slipped out with a wink. 

You leant against the counter and laughed to yourself. This was turning into one hell of a first day. You helped yourself to another slice of roast lamb when you heard the door bang open.

‘How’d it go?’ You asked with a giggle.

“How did what go?’ 

You turned around with a squeak.

‘Captain Levi!’ 

‘What now?’

‘I..I was expecting someone else.’

‘No shit idiot. Why have you got two slices of cake?’

You shifted awkwardly ‘Er ones for Sasha. Sir.’ 

‘Don’t call me sir. And give it to me. That girl eats more than her whole team combined.’

‘Well um…she really really wanted it…’

‘Too bad, I’m taking it. Tell her to get here earlier if she wants first pickings in future’

‘But you were the one who was late!’ You stood stubbornly in front of him and crossed your arms.

‘And now I’m here, and she isn’t.’ He went to take the plate from you as the door was thrown open.

‘I DID IT!’ Called out the girl before taking a moment to process the scene before her. ‘Captain Levi!’

He looked between the two of you curiously. ‘You know what, I don’t want to know.’ he shook his head, picked up Sasha’s cake and his plate of food and walked out the kitchen.

The two of you looked at each other and burst out laughing.

‘I don’t really know what happened there, but it was priceless.’

‘His face when I burst in, it was almost worth losing the food.’

‘God he’s so gonna kill me tomorrow. Why do I keep purposely trying to get on the bad side of my team captain?’

‘Oh god he’s your captain? I totally forgot. You have to see him every day wheres I’ve only got him for training twice a week.’ She giggled again. ‘I wonder what he though when we burst out laughing after he left the room.’ 

You laugh again, imagining it. ‘He is so gonna kill me in my sleep’

‘Or y’know, get you kicked off his team.’ She winked

You snort and narrow your eyes at her ‘Low blow Sasha, low blow.’

‘Just keeping things in perspective.’


End file.
